Government legal aid in Maharashtraमहाराष्ट्र में सरकारी कानूनी सहायता (NALSA/DLSA)

Free legal aid in Maharashtra is organised by Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority (MSLSA), set up under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Every district in the State has a District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), usually at the district court complex, and most sub-divisions or taluks have a Taluk / Sub-Divisional Legal Services Committee. You can walk in, ask for a panel lawyer for your case, get help drafting an application, or ask for your matter to be taken up in a Lok Adalat.

Under Section 12 of the 1987 Act you are entitled to free legal services if you are, among others, a woman or child, a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, a person with disability, a victim of trafficking, disaster or ethnic violence, an industrial workman, a person in custody, or a person whose annual income is below the limit notified by the State Government. The current income limit and contact numbers for each DLSA in Maharashtra are published on the authority's website.

You can also call the national legal aid helpline 15100, apply online through NALSA's Legal Services Management System (the application is routed to the right authority in Maharashtra), or use Tele-Law for a free video or phone consultation with a panel lawyer through a Common Service Centre.

Official links: Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority (MSLSA) · NALSA (all State authorities) · apply for legal aid online · Tele-Law

Appeals, writ petitions and other High Court matters from Maharashtra go to the Bombay High Court, whose principal seat is at Mumbai, with benches / circuit benches at Nagpur, Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar), Goa, Kolhapur (circuit bench, from August 2025). For Maharashtra, the relevant sitting is the principal seat at Mumbai, with benches at Nagpur and Aurangabad and a circuit bench at Kolhapur. The same High Court also covers Goa and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

Ordinary civil and criminal cases start in the district courts — civil judges and district judges, judicial magistrates and sessions courts — and family courts, motor accident claims tribunals and consumer commissions sit in most districts of Maharashtra. You can check the status of any district court case, see the next date and download orders on the official eCourts services website using the 16-character CNR number printed on your summons or order; our case-status helper explains each field.

Open eCourts (district courts) · CNR case-status helper

Landlord–tenant disputes in Maharashtra are mainly governed by the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999, together with your written rent agreement and the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. Keep the agreement, rent receipts and any notices safely — they are the first documents a DLSA panel lawyer or court will ask for.

Land records: Rural land records are the 7/12 extract (satbara) and 8-A; city properties have a property card. Changes are recorded as mutation entries (ferfar).

Stamp duty and registration fees in Maharashtra are fixed by the State Government and are revised from time to time, so we do not quote rates. Check the current rate and circle rate with the State's Department of Registration & Stamps (or the Sub-Registrar's office) before you pay.

Mahabhulekh (Maharashtra land records)